3-28-12 Harley

Harley was improving, and still is.. I longed him Monday night, and walked bareback a few minutes. Tuesday, however, he was stiff, pulling on the line, hanging on the line, bucking, kicking, farting, being horrible. I checked his hooves at the end of the work - 15 minutes. Ouch. Hot, sensitive to pressure... :(

So, I took some pictures tonight after a long discussion with MrsMom. And MrsM, here's the pictures we promised you. :-)

Rear hooves, from the front. :)

Rear Left, from the top

Rear left

Rear Right, from the top

Right rear

The sore spots are at the top center of those heel bulbs - where they're meeting at the frogs. There's little cracks, and I was able to doctor them a bit .. stuffed a little cotton smeared in TriTec antibiotic ointment. He stood real good right up until the last, then when I had to spread some heel away to get the cotton in, he let me know about the pain, trying to gently yank his hoof from my hands. I got cotton in one "gap" on each hoof - see here..

Left rear - cotton on the "gap" on the inside "side" of the heel bulb.

Right rear - inside again

As I look at the pictures, I see the more severe "cracks/gaps" are on the insides of the heels, rather than the outsides.. Hmm..

MrsMom has been awesome so far, and I want to publicly thank her for the help. We're going to get Harley happy on his hooves again soon!

3/22/12

Harley and I went to see Dr. Sam this morning. Most of the swelling had gone down in his legs, but the heat was still present in his hind ankles and tendon area..

Dr. Sam squeezed on the tendons and muscles and rotated all the relevant joints... No reaction.. No obvious sign something was wrong there.

He squeezed on hooves, and when he pushed on the heels and the spaces around the heels..

BINGO.

Heels are sore, and pretty soft. The result of standing in too much wet with all the rain we've had. He's going to be fine, with some hoof spray and time to dry, standing in a dry stall and/or paddock. Harley is unhappy being in lock-up, but the pasture is still pretty wet, and I know for sure he likes to walk in the pond, which is abundantly full.

03/15/12 Survey Says

I knew sure as I'd blog about it, the vet would call.. Murphy is a bear, you know?

Spoke with Jamie, tech for Dr. Sam's office. Explained the details as I blogged them out just now. She asked if I'd tried medicine. I gave Harley 1g of bute Monday evening, but he's not a big fan, and when I saw some progress, I decided to not give more... not a big fan of horse drugs if I don't have to.. ya know?

Dr Sam says "Add drugs". 1g bute twice a day for the weekend. If he's not better Monday, time for a visit. I'll be picking up some bute powder on the way home, since he doesn't like the paste at all, this'll be another try. Jamie said she's fed it over grain, and in a syringe with applesauce..

time to find syringes.. and organic applesauce...

Spoiled I tell ya.. he's spoiled!

03/12/12 Week of Harley

I curried and hosed Romeo down Monday evening, and turned him out to some hay. Caught Harley with intentions on doing the same. Curried, hosed, and found bad things when I got to his back legs.

Both of 'em. Swollen. Softball bats, from his hocks, down to the fetlocks. Warm to the touch, but he didn't fight pressure. Cold hosing began. I spent 20 minutes spraying down both legs, with only minor changes. I tied him to the trailer, called Jen, and decided to poultice and wrap both rear legs, confining Harley to stall only.

Tuesday morning I got up early (4:15am), and found the swelling down some, but not back to normal. More cold hosing, poultice, wrap, and stall rest.

Tuesday evening found a bit of progress. The left looked decent (still a bit swollen), right not as improved. I hosed the dry poultice off, and turned him out a while. An hour later, I brought him to the wash rack, and found the left looked even better, right no change. More cold hosing, poultice, wrap, and stall.

Wednesday morning, the left was okay.. A bit stocked up, as I knew this was going to happen from too much stall rest. Right hind, no change. Tendons were now appearing towards his hocks, but the closer to the fetlock it went, the more swelling & heat. Cold hose, poultice, wrap, stall rest.

Wednesday evening, I hosed the poultice off, turned him out. He quietly went out to graze. A half hour later, I longed him for about 15 minutes. A bit of bucking nonsense heading right at canter, which I quickly stopped with a slight tug on the line and a holler. Seemed sound (best I could tell) both directions. Steady fluid trot, willing relaxed canter, head quiet, hind end steady ... Both hind hooves a few inches short of tracking up trot, but consistent left to right, normal for Harley. He settled, and at each direction change, I saw more swelling coming out of the left hind, but still no change in the right. 15 minutes in, the right hind fetlock was hot. Quit! More cold hosing...

Instead of stall lock up, I left him turned out. Checked before bed time, and found the right fetlock moderately warm, and still a bit swollen. Left lookin' pretty decent. Left him out all night.

This morning? Absolutely no change. Still minor swelling, heat. I've put a call into Dr Sam to ask if I can do more, and as I blog, they're calling me back..

More later on.. If you're of the praying sort, whisper one for Harley, and his nervous momma...
*blessings ya'll*

Where We've Been

I've gotten healed up enough to get back to riding some. Harley and I had two decent rides. One was walking mostly, with a few abrupt one-rein stops. A bit of trot, with quick transitions. I was focusing on getting him stopped quick, for better emergency reactions. He didn't look real happy with the quick transitions, especially after we'd spent a good part of a lesson focused on softer, lighter transitions.

Romeo and I had a bit of fun. I have a notification sound on my phone that's much like the !bang! of a shotgun. I asked Jen to send me a few random messages, and had the phone volume cranked up. The thought was - if Mo can stay calm through the sound, he can be easier transitioned to actual gunfire, and maybe, just maybe, not spook wildly. He did great for the shot sounds, and in fact, was more concerned with the trees creaking in the wind than he was the !bang!fire sounds. Distant neighbors were zipping around out of sight on a dirt bike, and that sound definitely had his ears. Moreso than the gunfire ... Ironic, as the lady I bought Romeo from "shot at him more than once" when they caught him cribbing on their daughter's play house. Some people.. ya know? Too cheap to buy a cribbing collar, so they used bullets instead.... morons

I longed Harley Wednesday. I had full intentions on riding, but he had other plans. He tore off in a bucking, kicking fit on the free line. It's become a pattern, three straight work sessions straight, and I've had enough. A bit of good running discipline, and a lot of harsh words were thrown his way. He continued a bit, and so did I. I decided rather than ride, I put the neck stretcher on, and sent him back out. He was most unimpressed. I then set off the phone notification a few times standing with him on the ground. No reaction. I stuck a foot in the stirrup, and leaned over him, repeat. Still no reaction. Sat on his back, !bang! no reaction. Urged him on at the walk. !bang! No reaction again. A few more steps, !bang! Nothing... Lots of praise and reward for the calmness as he only flickered an ear my way and didn't shoot out forward.

Two different evenings in a row over the weekend, I fired off a bunch of .22 blank rounds by the house while the boys ate their suppers. I got lots of reaction, ranging from running out of the stalls to a bit of goofy trotting about. I kept the shots going until they eased and stood quiet but alert. That is a reaction I'm okay with. If spooked by gunfire, stop in your tracks and find it. Take off and bolt? Not a suitable reaction, especially when I'm on board.